10 Things We Learned From Playing Horizon: Zero Dawn at E3 2016

Not only can you tame certain machines using Aloy’s ‘override’ ability, but you can whistle them over to you and have them help you in battle. In our demo, we called our faithful Broadhead over, and rode him around a massive spider-mech boss.

Alright, maybe Broadhead didn’t deserve this after all we had just been through together. But in case your Broadhead does… deserve it… just know you can bash at an overridden machine without it fighting back.

Look, I know we’re starting to look a little insane here. But this was for science, and science would like you to know these cute little creatures are indeed kill-able.

Aloy can craft and deploy shock, explosive, and fire traps. Rather than sit and hope your unsuspecting prey steps into the trap, you can manually detonate them by shooting them with an arrow. Any nearby enemies, Broadheads, or cute rabbits will be no match.

Video game bows don’t have a reputation for being exceptionally wieldy weapons, but they feel great in Horizon: Zero Dawn. You can move fluidly while attacking, there’s juuust the right amount of aim assist, and best of all, you never wish you had a gun instead.

Aloy is a lone ranger, lone wolf, lone…ly person. She’s the only one in her tribe curious about the world and its history. Moreso, every person she ran into during our demo told her to go home and, upon her refusal, told her she’s batshit crazy.

Their cables tense and relax like muscles, their backs ripple with the movement of underlying limbs, their metal joints burst with a lunging energy and then collapse under their own weight. Horizon’s machines are stunningly animal-like.

The Broadheads are freakishly good at handling rocky terrain, at least compared to other gaming mounts. Cough – ROACH – cough. My machine strode easily over ridges and sloped rocks, never slipping or struggling.

Maybe you thought this already, but I’m just here to confirm that yes, Horizon is drop-dead beautiful. Not only that, I got lost in a sea of glistening grass even in my small piece of demo. Because the world is huge, not because I’m directionally challenged.

No doubt one of the most unique weapons of Horizon: Zero Dawn is the Ropecaster, that thing that spits out ropes and ties machines to the ground. Great for capturing Broadheads in huge webs of death.

angle-leftangle-right

‹‹

››

Overidden machines can aid you in battle.

Not only can you tame certain machines using Aloy's 'override' ability, but you can whistle them over to you and have them help you in battle. In our demo, we called our faithful Broadhead over, and rode him around a massive spider-mech boss.